


Esta of the Village of Wisdom

by Lycoris13



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-09 05:22:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11097774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lycoris13/pseuds/Lycoris13
Summary: Esta is given a chance to leave her village as part of a trading envoy. Of course, things don't go quite as planned since nobody seems to be interested in her wares. After receiving advice, she decided to travel to Zora's Domain and discovers a kingdom very different from her home village.





	Esta of the Village of Wisdom

“Who are you and why have you come here?”

My bow was raised and an arrow notched and ready to fly at the slightest release of my fingers on the nock.

“State your purpose or be gone. These lands are sacred and are protected by and for the Goddess of Wisdom.”

The man before me simply stared before grabbing something from his side and lifting it slowly towards me.

A Sheikah Slate.

My eyes narrowed as I examined it, doing my best to ensure that it was the real deal and not a fabrication. Nobody should enter these lands without good intentions and the blessings of the Goddesses.

Satisfied that it was indeed a real Sheikah Slate, I lowered my bow and swiftly returned the arrow to my quiver at my hip. Shouldering my bow, I gestured to the man before turning around and making my way back towards the village.

“You don’t say much, huh? Well. If you’d like to rest before continuing onto the Spring of Wisdom, which I will add, is something I highly recommend you do because of the change in elevation causing it to be harder for you to breath, then just follow me. The village would be more than happy to have you for a night or two.”

From the sound of footsteps following behind me, it was clear that he was fine with the idea of resting before journeying further.

* * *

 

 

The man, I later found out, was named Link. He was the knight of Princess Zelda a hundred years ago and had returned to stop the rampage of Ganon and return Hyrule to its previous state. He may be a champion, but he sure had a hard time adjusting to the thinner air of the mountains.

It took Link a number of days to be well-enough to get over his altitude sickness and make his way to the Spring.

I didn’t see much of him during this time. I was too busy helping the Elders with their repairs and such prior to the winter snows. Plus, I had to finish the harvesting of the remaining crops and store them. Link tried to help early on, but quickly became too dizzy and had to stop.

I was disappointed in a way that I had to do everything alone as always, but as the only able-bodied person really left on the mountain for this type of work, I accepted the task without complaint and worked alone to clear the terraced fields on the mountainsides.

Link seemed rather shocked by the village. From what I gathered his first night, despite visiting the Spring of Wisdom with Princess Zelda one hundred years ago, they had by-passed the village entirely due to the urgency of their task.

The thin air was of little issue to me, having grown up accustomed to working and living in this environment. Lifting baskets of ripe crops up the different terraces to the village at the mountain peak was of little consequence to me.

All of this combined with my occasional rotation on guard duty was simply the norm for those serving the Goddess of Wisdom on Her mountain. We had to learn how to get the most out of what we had, which often meant getting the most out of the least. Food, shelter, supplies, you name it and we needed it. Always.

Many of those left in the village were getting on in their years. They could help plant, and many could still put up a decent fight, but I was the only one of my generation left. The others had all either passed away due to disease or sickness or instead had moved to a more populated and busy town.

It was because of this that it was nice to meet Link. I wasn’t the youngest person around anymore, I’d found a kindred spirit in a way. Though he wasn’t much of a talker, and not just because he was constantly out of breath, and nauseous, it was still good to have someone around whom I could relate to.

We’d discuss different weapons and strategies for enemies encountered. He gave me tips for using a sword and I helped him learn to craft his own arrows.

On the day he decided to depart for the Spring, I tagged along not only as a guide to and from the Spring, but as a reason to spend more time with him. I loved being able to talk without needing to constantly watch my words and ensure that I showed proper respect.

I waited outside the main grounds of the Spring as Link entered and helped the Goddess’ Dragon heal from Ganon’s taint.

All too soon, it was time to Link to leave and continue on his journey.

The village elders blessed me with the chance of traveling with Link. With the fieldwork nearly done and the village prepared for winter, there was little for me to do in the village. I was to travel with Link and trade our village wares for supplies not available on the mountaintop: fish, meat, herbs, etc. In return, I’d sell our wares: pottery, fine necklaces and bracelets made of stones from the sacred pond and blessed in the waters of the Goddess, etc. Any supplies bought were to be sent back immediately for use in the harsh winter months.

To put it simply: I was thrilled.

* * *

 

 

Link was more than kind. He accommodated my slower pace as we set off to Kakariko Village. My little llama carried most of my baggage and wares, but it was still slow going since I had to ensure that nothing was damaged by our descent.

It took a few weeks due to the uneven terrain and the winding paths, but we made it to Kakariko. Link bowed politely in farewell before running off to meet with Impa, the village elder. I was left to explore the village, secure lodging, and begin trading my wares.

Although Kakariko had much to offer the Village of Wisdom, there was little I could offer them. The blessed jewelry did moderately well due to the continued faith of the villagers in the Three Goddesses. Everything else though were duds.

The little money I earned from the jewelry was used to purchase meat which would be sent back to my village with the next Rito messenger.

Link had already left for his next destination, so I was to travel on my own for now. I was at an impasse. I didn’t know where to go. I was worried that the next village would just be similar to this one; with no need for the crafts from the Village of Wisdom.

I decided to simply travel and see where the Goddesses would bring me. My village had served Goddess Nayru for centuries, she couldn’t let us down in a time of need. Whether it be that I find more craftsmen and young people or I find more amicable trades, either one would benefit the village.

So I set out once more.

* * *

 

 

The wetland stables were… unremarkable. Aptly named, but rather uninspiring and without many interested tradespeople. Those whom I did meet and trade with were stingy and didn’t offer fair prices. I suppose it’s the cost of being a wandering trades-person – they have to make money somehow and buying low and selling high is just the way to do so.

The owner of the stables made a suggestion which I decided to follow. Upon seeing what I had to sell and what I wanted to buy, he recommended I move towards Zora’s Domain, commenting that the Domain had a surplus of fish, but rather lacked Hylian foods and supplies.

My next destination was set.

As I got closer to the Zora’s Domain, it started to rain more frequently and harder. Despite the mino worn by both myself and my goat, we were both soaked through. The rain just didn’t stop. I was seriously beginning to doubt the idea of continuing towards the Domain. Nothing was worth this constant cold and wet.

I continued forward though. For the amount of suffering I’d endured already, I wanted to see a payoff of any kind, even if it meant simply seeing the Domain.

It took me around two weeks due to my slow pace and the never-ending downpour, but I arrived at the entrance of Zora's Domain.

"Up top! Above you!"

I looked around wildly, the combination of fog and heavy rain making it difficult to see, let alone hear, who was speaking. I clutched the goat's lead close to my chest, doing my best not to let the slippery leather out of my hands.

A large, red mass jumped down in front of me, startling me and causing me to jump in the air in fright.

"You are Hylian, yes? Do you have a moment to talk?"

I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the water from my eyes as I raised a hand and dragged wet hair out of my face.

"I guess so. It's not like I'm going anywhere or that I'm standing in the rain or anything..."

The Zora seemed a tad thrown off by my grumbled comments.

"Ahh..." He now looked slightly embarrassed."Pardon me..."

I sent him a disgruntled look and tugged on the lead, beginning to trek past the Zora towards the series of bridges leading into the Domain.

"Ahh!!!" He cried and jogged slightly in order to catch up to me. He then kept pace with me as I continued forwards.

"I am Sidon, the Zora Prince!" As he made this statement, he swung an arm around wildly. In the rain, I couldn't see what the point what, but I grunted and sent him a dirty look.

"And what is your name?"

I continued forward, not replying. I was cold and tired. I didn't really want to waste time making pleasantries with the Prince. I was too tired to give a shit about this crap. Niceties are easy to withstand and play along with when you are coherent a comfortable. Clearly, this prince, despite being well-spoken knew little of manners.

"Go on, please tell me!"

I sighed heavily, "Esta of the Village of Wisdom."

 

**Author's Note:**

> I really like Sidon. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many fics involving him and an OC. I don't like him with Link. So, I decided to write my own.  
> I imagine that each of the Springs would have some sort of guardian(s) to watch over them. The Spring of Wisdom, being on a mountain and whatnot, I thought would involve the residents needing to be wise and clever in order to prove their worth to Nayru and to survive. Winters are probably long and harsh. There is not much freshwater until Spring, and fertile land is hard to find. So the villagers would have to be smart and crafty to survive. They created terraces like the Inca in order to get the most sunlight and crops from the land they have. They would probably hunt what they could and use everything they could with as little waste as possible. Trading would probably be necessary.
> 
> As for why many human towns don't want the goods being made by Esta's village. Well, considering the village is rather remote, I'd imagine that they aren't really good at keeping with the times. Clay pots and such probably can be made within the other villages for cheaper, necklaces and whatnot of the Goddess are not as popular as they once were due to shifting faith in the Goddesses to other religions, etc.


End file.
